Pheasant Hunting News

Pheasant Hunting and Sporting Clays News

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Iowa Pheasant Hunting News

Reid Cummings may be a middle school student, but he is already a great hunter. During a recent hunting experience organized by Pheasants Forever in Sioux City, he harvested four pheasants and that’s only the tip of his hunting trophies.

The 2014 pheasant hunting season is underway and many of the hunters out in the fields will be comparing their harvests with those of previous years’. While some will realise that this year is certainly better than the 2013 season; those who were hunting in the 1980s and 1990s will still be reminiscing about the good old days.

Hunters who are heading over to the state of Iowa should be in for one of the best hunting seasons for six years. According to the state’s annual count there are a record number of pheasants roaming the game areas since 2008.

Pheasant hunting isn’t like it used to be in Iowa. Between 1962 and 1999, hunters have harvested one million birds 31 times. Since the turn of the new century, it’s only happened twice. In the past, Iowa hosted anywhere from 30,000-50,000 nonresident hunters each year, but as the bird populations have decreased so have the number of tourists.

Pheasants Forever and partners have helped acquire 400 acres of wildlife habitat that will be added to the 715-acre Clanton Creek Natural Resource Area in south-central Iowa's Madison County. The addition creates 1,115 contiguous acres of protected habitat that is open to public hunting and outdoor recreation.

“There is not much competition on public land, which could be a good thing for hunters who still plan to hunt,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “A lot of hunters went out opening day and didn’t see much and now they are done for the year.”

Pheasants Forever announces the completion of 1 million acres of habitat accomplishments in Iowa since the first Iowa chapter formed in 1984. With Pheasants Forever's marquee event, National Pheasant Fest 2010, in Des Moines this weekend, "PF" members and sponsors will celebrate the 1,000,000 acres of habitat work accomplished by Pheasants Forever in the state. National Pheasant Fest is this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

How? By purchasing your ticket for the Iowa Build a Wildlife Area gun raffle sponsored by the Iowa Pheasants Forever State Council. Fifty-two brand new firearms – total value of $78,000 - will be raffled off, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to purchasing new public hunting and recreation areas in Iowa.

Feeding ringnecks can have negative consequences, not long-term solution to winter survival– From the Dakotas and Minnesota to Iowa and Illinois, much of the core pheasant range is experiencing winter's first real test due to recent heavy snowstorms and extreme cold. Naturally, many hunters and conservationists have found cause for concern regarding ring-necked pheasants' ability to survive, and ask "Should we be feeding pheasants?" Pheasants Forever has some careful considerations.